


It's Kinda Complicated

by AliGator



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), dnf - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cute, Florida, Fluff, M/M, meetup
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:02:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28421394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AliGator/pseuds/AliGator
Summary: The four muffinteers plus KArl and Skeppy meet up in florida to stay with Dream. Space complications end up making them need to share rooms in pairs :0
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this is kind of a practice for me i haven't written anything in actual months so i decided to type this for fun. I DO NOT ship them irl this is 100% JUST A FIC and if any of them find shipping uncomfortable of are not comfortable with this it WILL BE DELETED 
> 
> otherwise i Hope you enjoy!

Im very tired what even is this 

I shall call this a splurge of ideas  
Oooh should i write a meet up? Idk maybe  
I can start here  
Ok ok… Ahem, listen up please. Tis I, the narrator. Listen closely please.  
Alright thank you for the attention. This is where we start

Clay’s POV

The day had been busy, Clay had woken up at the crack of dawn to prepare his home for his visiting friends. Even though they wouldn't be there for hours before Clay had to go pick them up from the airport, he couldn't help but make sure everything was perfect for his friends.

Patches, however, was not nearly as enthusiastic as Clay, and protested with mournful mews that not even an early breakfast could calm. She rubbed against Clays legs all day to get him to sit down or at least give her attention.

“Oh, Hey pretty kitty,” Dream acknowledged finally. “I didn't see you there.”

Patches mewed a greeting of her own and left to go nap on one of the beds in the guest bedrooms.

Clay scoffed at the cat and continued cleaning and organizing. He set up each guestroom with small gifts for each of his friends to make them feel more welcome and less homesick. Definitely not small jabs at embarrassing inside jokes, he said to himself, glancing back at a panda print throw blanket made for infants that even had a pacifier attached that sat on a guest bed with red covers he had meant for NIck (Sapnap). 

He hadn’t even taken a break for breakfast that morning, and didnt realize until and alarm went off on his phone.

11:30 - pick up Sappy nap The notification read.

What? There's no way i've been up for 8 hours getting this ready, Clay thought to himself. He sighed and speedran his morning routine, giving Patches her long awaited lunch before he grabbed his car keys and headed out to pick up the first member of the group to come.

Clay got to the airport a couple minutes before Nick’s plane landed. He sat at an empty table in a Subways to pass the time and checked his most recent message chain with him.

Heading out, gonna be on airplane mode for a while text you when i land  
You got it i definitely might not forget you there :D  
What the honk no don't jinx yourself i wouldn't put it past you

Clay checked the time again and realized Nick’s plane should've landed by now. He got up and decided to order some Subways for the both of them while he waited for Nick to message him.

Ding  
Just got out im headed to baggage claim where should i meet you

Nicks message pinged. Clay pulled out his phone too quickly and accidentally juggled it in an awkward side motion tossing it a few feet away from him. He awkwardly slipped out of line to pick it up and grabbed the fresh subs for him and Nick.

Just got us some subway at the food court meet you halfway

OK

Clay put his phone back in his pocket and navigated his way over to baggage claim.

“DREAMM,” a familiar voice screamed in his direction. “Over HERE! What the HONK!”

“Sapnap! Calm down, this is a PUBLIC. AIRPORT.”

“Jeez im sorry Dweam i apologize for wanting to see you so bad,” Nick replied in his fake apologetic voice.

“Yea yea, you were So excited to see me.” Clay replied just as sarcastically.” But not as excited as to see Karl,” Clay cooed.

“Okay, moment over please stop,” Nick said, turning away his reddening face.

Clay Wheezed and Nick laughed too. Clay handed him his sub and they sat at a table in the food court. According to their plans Karl would be on a connecting flight and would be more than halfway to that same airport with a little over 30 minutes to go on his flight. 

As Nick and Clay ate their subs, waiting out Karls plane ride, they made numerous insults and jokes prodding at each other, as well as brotherly advice and laughs. They were both excited to see the rest of their friends but were just as glad to see each other in person. Ya’know, brohterly bonds and all.

They had both finished their Subway when both their phones pinged with a new notification. Nick immediately grabbed his phone, clearly hoping it would be Karl, and sent Clay into a fit of his kettle laughter.

Clay let Nick respond to the message, knowing if they both got it it would be in the group chat. And noticed Nicks face turn a light shade of red right after a new message went through to his phone. Nick buried his face in his arms and let out a half hearted laugh.

“What? What happened?” Clay wheezed and grabbed his phone.

“No, please Dream Don't you'll never let me hear the end of it,” NIck mumbled rapidly from between his arms.

“Well now I have to see,” Clay wheezed.

He opened his phone to the chat and read it out loud.

Karl: Just landed! Cant wait to see you guys!

Nick: Can't wait to see you too cutie :P

Karl: Miss me too much? Lol

Nick: Always <3

Karl: Awww really??

Nick groaned and Clay wheezed again. “Ok, that was really embarrassing but we will have to talk about it later, ok?”

“Like, really talk about it or make fun of me?”

“Talk, always if you need it.”

Nick groaned again, but got up and picked up the trash from their meal. Clay did the same and messaged the Karl they were going to meet him halfway between baggage claim and teh food court.

When they finally found Karl, Nick called out to him the same way he had greeted Clay. Karl ran over and the two friends hugged eachother tightly. Clay laughed and when Karl and Nick let go he hugged Karl too. 

“Hey you guys!” Karl said warmly. Nick laughed lightly in response and Clay chuckled. “What are we doing first?”

“Well, Im pretty sure that Skeppy and George get here tomorrow then Bad the day after that so its just gonna be us for a bit,” Nick remembered aloud.

“Cool, cool,” Karl responded with a smile, nudging Nick with his elbow.

“Well, since today is gonna be just us we’re gonna head back to my place so you guys can get settled then we’ll go out for lunch and probably just takeout for dinner,” Clay elaborated. 

Karl sighed and pulled his backpack back onto his shoulder to keep it from slipping off. Nick adjusted the grip on his suitcase. “ Well, let’s go!’ he said.

. . . .

The car drive back to Clay’s house was eventful. Nick kept making jokes and beamed everytime Karl laughed. Multiple times the jokes had Clay wheezing so hard his eyes teared up and he accidentally made the car swerve.

They had gotten take out on the way there as Karl was ‘starving’ and a footlong Subway sandwich was a ‘very small meal for a guest to be expected to have’. 

Clay opened the door and Patches came running up to greet him.  
The door opened to the living room which was fairly sized with a huge couch and a pretty black and white rug underneath. There was a big TV centered in front of the couch and a cat scratching post right next to it. Past the living room was the kitchen. It had a small island as well as a dining table that could fit almost twelve people.

On the other side of the TV than the scratching post was a wide hallway with cabinets on either immediate side and five doors down the hall. Those were the guest rooms, each one organized and set for everyone who was coming on the trip. At the back of the kitchen was a sliding glass door that lead to the backyard where there was lush green grass and various vibrant plants and flowers with a view of the beach as well as a fire pit and some beach chairs spread in a wide circle around it.

There were two guest rooms and in each of them thee was a sizeable queen bed with throw pillows, night stands next to them and a desk in the corners opposite from the doors and closets in front of the beds next to the door. In the other corner of each room was a wide reclining chair.

Clay gave Nick and KArl a tour of the house and showed them to their room. Yes. Their room.

“Wait, Karl and me sleep in the same room?” Nick asked sounding panicked.

“Yeah, sorry about that, I don't have enough room for all of you to get your own but i dont want any of you guys to have to get a hotel. You guys could alternate between the bed and reclining chair, but if you really want one of you guys could sleep in the other guest room until Skeppy and Bad get here,” Clay explained.

“It's fine, Dream,” Karl said reassuringly.” I understand, you're such a great host. Besides, I'm sure Nick and I could make it work!”

“Thanks, Karl,” Clay replied, shooting a look at Nick.

Later that day, after Nick and Karl unpacked their things, Clay drove the three of them to a comfy looking seafood restaurant. Karl and Nick talked about their plane rides and how they were excited to be there and how all of them couldn't wait for Bad, Skeppy and George to get there the next day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George arrives to florida and the Dream team spends the day at the beach waiting for Skeppy and Bad to arrive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a longer chapter, cant wait to finish the third one! i hope you guys like it
> 
> Mild angst warning, nothing intense but if you have a trigger be careful in the beginning
> 
> this is NOT an Irl ship, if ANY of the characters involved say they are uncomfortable with shipping or this fanfic specifically, this will be removed WITHOUT HESITATION

George’s POV

As long as George could remember, he had never been very good with sharing his feelings. No matter what was going on, all he would do to cope would be pushing his feelings deep down until he could ignore them well enough to move on with his day.

The only time that ever seemed to stick in the back of Georges mind from when he ever had to do that was when he was about 13, struggling with his sexuality. He had been on a call with some childhood friends he wasn't really in touch with anymore and they were helping him through it. The only one he still talked with anymore was his old friend, Eret. 

Eret had been there since day one, and him and George would always go to each other when they needed advice. What George remembered the most about these long talks at night, was that no matter what was going on, Eret could always tell when something was off. Eret had a subtle way of prompting George to talk about what was going on without feeling pressured or frustrated with having to expose himself.

When Geroge was coming to the realization that he did in fact, like men, he was overwhelmed with constant worry that would fill his chest with dread and force the walls in on him, making it very difficult to keep his anxieties to himself. He still remembered that morning he spent staring at the call button for Eret in discord, trying to decide which outcome would be better or worse for him if he never pressed that button.

He did. And it was one of the best decisions of his life. Eret comforted him and repeatedly told him that no matter what, he would be there for him. George had silently cried and Eret told him:

“Something tells me you’ve needed this for a while.”

“Need… what?”

“A friend. It’s going to be okay, I'm here no matter what.”

Thus creating George's first crush. This had been resolved years ago anyway. Eret and George had never grown apart, but as George grew more and more grateful for that friendship, he had come to the understanding that Eret would be better as a friend, and deserved to have a good one himself. That’s what George wanted to be.

Then along came Clay and his wonderful laugh and breathtaking personality. Clay had proven himself as an amazing friend to all of the dream team. Some long-locked feeling that George had pushed away those so many years ago had somehow crept its way back into George's life. Along with the anxieties.

Next thing he knew, George was half asleep on a plane to Florida, to spend an entire week and a half with this very perfect human. Oh- and his other friends, of course.

The plane landed and George stood up and stretched. It was very dark outside, which George had anticipated, but the jet lag was starting to get to him. He got his suitcase and made his way to baggage claim to get the rest of his stuff. According to their plans, George would uber to Clay’s house and Skeppy would arrive later that same day, and Bad the day after.

George considered messaging Clay but shook off the feeling, old memories and feelings seeping into his memories. 

George got to what he was only partially sure was Clay’s house. He took a breath at the front step and began to look for the spare key that Clay had said he’d hidden in the pot of short-stemmed flowers that appeared a dull brown to George but he assumed it was some more vibrant color. He felt the key lightly buried under the soil and went to unlock the door.

George walked in and was greeted by Patches lying down on the living room couch. George smiled and put his bags down by the TV and sat with patches, giving her her much craved attention. Slowly, Patches made her way into his lap and they both fell asleep.

. . . .

“Wake up, sleepy head!” an annoyingly loud voice woke George.

“Shhh, Sapnap -No!” George heard a warmer voice call. George slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes.

“Gogy!” Nick yelled, walking over to hug him.

“Sap,” Karl sighed dramatically, giggling under his breath. “Sorry, George. Good morning!”

“Good morning,” George answered through a yawn. He stretched and heard a sizzling sound come from the kitchen. Dream, George’s mind gasped, and suddenly he was wide awake, despite the jet lag.

‘Morning!’ Clay called happily, flipping pancakes and cooking bacon. “Up for some breakfast?”

“S-sure,” George stuttered, sending Nick into a fit of laughter and Karl giggling in response. George shot a look at Nick and walked over to the small kitchen island that Karl had been seated at.

“How was your flight, George?” Karl asked, trying to cover up the uncomfortable silence coming from George.

“It was good. Quite long, actually,” George responded with another yawn.” Oh, dream, would it be alright if I showered before we go to do whatever we are doing today?”

“Yes! We're just going to head to the beach for today, at least until Skeppy gets here,” Clay said, flipping another pancake into the air.

“Woahh, Dream you’re so good at flipping things...,” Nick said loudly and sarcastically, sending Clay into a small fit of wheezes. Everyone else in the room began laughing and George beamed, admiring how easily this man could change the mood of an entire room.

George went to get the things he would need from his suitcase and went down the hallway looking for the guest bathroom. He looked into a guest room with fluffy looking covers that were slightly moved around one one half and multiple blankets thrown carelessly on a reclining chair off in the corner of the room. George scoffed, knowing the messy chair was probably where Nick had slept last night. 

The next room he checked was the guest bathroom, and he heard Karl and Nick yelling from the kitchen with Clay wheezing. Either that or Karl and Nick were yelling at Clay to get the kettle off the stove. George showered quickly and joined his friends in for breakfast.

Nick had prompted Karl to talk about a Bath and Body Works employee that Karl had apparently been simping for recently.

“And-And I asked her about it again, just because i wanted to talk a bit, even though i already knew about that candle,” Karl wheezed out, his face turning a shade of bright pink. 

George’s eyes strayed to Clay wheezing his lungs away, slamming the table trying not to choke on a mouthful of pancake.

They had then gotten ready and went out to the beach that was a gate door away from Clay’s backyard. They each set up their towels and Clay set up an umbrella that was poorly buried into the sand, sending Nick into a fit of outrage and joking criticism that could have made him the very american version of Gordan Ramsay who specialized in beach comfort items.

At some point Karl dumped a toy pail of warm saltwater on Nick and they went into full battle, knee deep in the water splashing each other through fits of yelling and laughter. George was sitting on his towel, still tired from the plane ride early that morning. Clay was laughing from a small dug out pit in the sand he had started, trying to dig out some nice sea shells and sand for a sandcastle making contest Clay had challenged them all to later.

George layed down and closed his eyes, peacefully soaking in the warmth of the sun, feeling the strangely uncomfortable-but-somehow-very-comfortable humidity. Clay came over and sat on the towel next to him. George tried to ignore the burst of butterflies that went off in his heart. No, he thought to himself, shoving the feeling away.

“Well, hello there, George,” Clay exhaled, smiling, facing the deep blue ocean in front of him, salty wind blowing his sandy hair out of his face.

“Hello,” George responded, his smile gradually widening.

“Are you excited? For tomorrow?” Clay asked, turning to face George.

“For Bad? And Skeppy?” George asked, sitting up a little bit, turning to face Clay.

“No, you dummy,” Clay giggles.” The contest.”

“I would pretend to be excited, but i'm honestly clueless- what contest, Dream?” George laughed. Clay wheezed a little bit, making George beam.

“Well i can't tell you because it's a surprise,” Clay said dismissively, using his hands to scoop together damp sand into a small hill shape.

“You're so annoying, Dream,” George laughed, making Clay laugh and turn to look at George, green eyes shining in amusement.

“You love me, though,” Clay scoffed, playfully pushing George’s arm, sending fireworks from the simplicity of touch. George felt his cheeks burn, and he turned away quickly, Sending Clay in to yet another fit or aggressive laughter.

George joined in with Clay’s laughter, feeling warm and happy. Clay scooped another handful of sand next to his small mound of sand, and smoothed out the top.

“I’ll never understand how you do that,” George commented. Clay smiled, pushing dirt into the side and pushing indents into the edges, making a rigid wall.

“It’s easier than it looks, trust me, it's nothing special,” Clay sighed contentedly with the finished product, a almost perfect circle with four spires built evenly on the edges, connected with higher walls than the initial circle. George tilted his head to look at it.

He reached out and drew out a crooked smile and two dots in the circle. “There, Now it's perfect.” Clay smiled down on it then back at George. The smile he drew looked almost exactly like Clay’s stickman logo.

“Yes, perfect,” Clay smiled and reached for George’s shoulder. Clay lifted himself back onto his feet using George’s shoulder to support him, and George held his arm to help him up.

“Oooooooooh!” they heard Nick yell at them from the beach.”George and Dream, Sitting in a tree! K-I- ouf-”

Nick was cut off abruptly by Karl slipping and grabbed Nick’s shirt in panic, pulling them under the waves unexpectedly. Clay burst out laughing and ran over to help them up. George got up as well, laughing at a soaked Nick, who seemed thoroughly shocked, coughing up ater he accidentally inhaled.

“Sapnap- Im so sorry,” Karl barely managed to say between laughs.

“Yea, yea,” Nick laughed lightly, still butthurt at how he fell.

“Seriously, i really am,” Karl giggled.

“Not as sorry as I am.. FOR THIS!” Nick yelled, and he used his leg to trip karl and he flipped backwards into the waves, bursting out in laughter as karl slowly got up, jaw dropped but smiling.

Clay burst into a full on wheeze, and tried to say something that George couldn't quite make out through his laugh. Clay bent over and splashed water onto Nick, who got up defiantly, and ran after Clay.

George’s eyes teared up from laughing, and jogged to the water to help up Karl, and they ran after Nick and Clay to try and save Clay from an inevitable doom that would most certainly end with one or weather of them hurt and covered in sand.

George laughed and yelled after Clay and Nick, feeling happy and at peace for the first time since his worries had begun over the plane as he overthought. This vacation could be exactly what i needed, George smiled to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for sticking around! Im still not completely sure if i should continue with this but i think i might, if i do, how often would you guys want me to post? i dont have a bunch of free time, BUT i am prone to procrastination, so i just might be able to get it done, lol


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rest of Clay's friends come over and they spend a long day hanging out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is not an IRL ship if any of the characters involved mention they are uncomfortable with this it will be removed immediately without hesitation
> 
> I hope you enjoy, this chapter was a lot longer than i anticipated and there is some mild angst to if you have a trigger just be careful, but its nothing serious.
> 
> Some fluff in this chapter ahhhhh

CH 3

Dream’s POV

Clay had woken up early, and began to make breakfast for his friends again. George had spent the night in the second guest room where bad and Skeppy would be the next day. Nick had fallen asleep before anyone else and Karl stayed up late watching a movie on the couch.

Clay became lost in his mind as his echo dot played some music. He couldn't be happier to have his friends so close to him. Usually he spent his days glued to his monitor or aimlessly staring at the ocean or fire from the firepit in his backyard. Clay found himself more and more preoccupied with his thoughts these days. 

A couple months ago, he began feeling strangely confused. Whenever he spoke to George he would feel butterflies. Every night he found himself longing for George’s voice to talk to him. Or anyone. The sound comforted him in a way he wasn't sure how to react to. He remembered having a panic attack. The first panic attack he had ever had. It was something he never wanted to feel again, and almost brought him to tears, thinking he was pathetic and undeserving of anyone when he thought about it. He remembered the walls closing in, his chest felt heavy and his eyes were blinded by tears, throat choked with his sobs. He had never felt so anxious, and worried. All for one small reason that made him feel petty.

He was Bi. Clay had been so overwhelmed with it, worried of what his parents would think, if his friends would shut him out if they knew. He hadn't been able to get the thought out of his head that his friends and family would think of him differently or even worse- treat him differently.

He was so worried he hadn’t even come out to anyone yet. He feared that out of nowhere, he would drop to the floor, drown in his tears at any moment, if any of them had found out. He remembered the other day his mother jokingly snapped at him, and Clay found himself wanting to cry - that a stupid joke made him feel like he was going to get caught. He felt like a fugitive in his own home.

But now, he had George at his house. The one that had started this whole mess, made him question everything. But he could never blame him. His smile was brighter than the sun, the moon, and the stars to Clay. he admired his laugh and the way he did everything, even the way his name sounded. Somehow, even colorblindedness had made him even more perfect.

Clay flipped a slice of french toast out of the pan and onto a big plate with the rest of the french toast. He knew this was one of Nick’s favorite breakfasts, which was something Clay was using to keep Nick in a good mood for that day.

Karl came out from the guest room and stretched. “Good morning, Dream!” he said brightly despite the tired look on his face, as if he had dragged himself out of bed.

“Good Morning, Karl!” Clay said with a laugh, fluffing another slice of french toast. “Did Sapnap snore so much last night?”

Karl laughed his warm laugh.”No, I was too tired to hear anything.”

Clay laughed again and placed one slice of french toast on four plates and got out a few plastic cups for everyone. He looked over towards the entrance of the hallway to see Nick and George walk out groggily.

“Sapnap woke me up,” George groaned and threw himself on the couch, burying his face in a pillow.

Nick giggled to himself and he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, walking over to the island and sitting next to Karl. Karl leaned over and rested his head on Nick’s shoulder and closed his eyes. “Just gonna rest my eyes for a bit,” Karl muttered and Clay and Nick laughed. Nick turned a bright shade of red and Clay smirked at him, making Nick roll his eyes.

They all moved to the dining table and began to eat, Nick absolutely stuffed his face, and Karl kept laughing too hard, and made smaller jokes that only Nick could make out, almost making him choke on the food.

They spent the rest of the morning sitting on the couch together watching movies on Netflix. Eventually moving to the backyard to overlook the beach, just to take a break and talk face-to-face, not knowing when they would all meet up again.

Nick sat on the turf within the gate surrounding the border of Clay’s backyard. He called patches over and he scratched her gently until she lay down in his lap. George sat by the fire pit next to Clay, and he couldn't suppress the small burst of excitement that he would sit next to him by choice.

Karl moved his chair back, a little closer to Nick so he could reach down and pet Patches too.

“Wow, I bet Patches isn’t ever going to want you guys to leave,” Clay laughed.

“Oh, you won’t need to worry about that, because I'm taking her back to Texas with me,” Nick said very matter-of-factly, looking up at Clay with a very matter-of-fact facial expression.

“No! Patches, how could you?” Clay pretended he was shot, and fell on his knees as if to beg Patches to stay. George laughed the hardest at the joke, turning red, and gave Clay butterflies knowing his joke pleased him.

Karl laughed and snatched Patches from Nick’s lap, and stroked her gently. He turned towards Nick who sat facing him in shock. “No,” He said simply, smiling.

Nick scoffed in outrage, and laughed, reaching over and stroked patches. Clay and George laughed at the two of them. The group talked some more and Clay kept noticing Nick whisper to Karl separately from the conversations, making each other laugh at their own small jokes. He made eye contact with Nick, giving him a “we still have to talk about this later” look.

About an hour later The group moved back inside, and watched a couple more episodes of a couple different random shows before they looked at the time and realized they should get ready for lunch. Clay had planned out every day out carefully, so that everything that happened was convenient. For today, Clay had planned out for all of them to go to the airport to pick up Skeppy, who had bought a plane ticket for a plane to arrive right around lunch, so right after they would go pick him up from the airport they would all go out for food.

Clay however, hadn’t anticipated how messy it would be for them all to get ready for lunch at the same time. There was only one restroom and Nick had for some reason it would be a good time to shower right as they all had to get ready. Karl kept running around the house to find an outlet for his dying phone, while George was waiting for Nick to hurry up. Clay himself on the other hand was amused at all of them panicking, and quite frankly was just glad to have the company of his friends.

They all loaded into Clay’s car, everyone falling into their preferred seats, except for Nick who had to call shotgun right as he ran through the front door and towards the passenger seat, but George got there first. Nick pouted his lips and glared and George who smiled at him smugly before moving to the backseat with Karl. Despite being in the back of the car, Nick reached over and immediately started looking for different music stations that suited his taste. 

“Just pick one, Sapnap,” George laughed, pushing Nick’s arm back. 

“I'm sorry there's nothing good on,” Nick scoffed, continuing his search. Clay scrunched his face, ignoring the slight insult.

“Ok ok hold on,’’ Karl said hurriedly, connecting his phone to the car’s bluetooth. Everyone (except Clay because he’s driving) turned to look over at karl who was focused on his phone.  
Karl then looked up and smiled as the song “What makes you beautiful” by One Direction started blasting on the speakers. Clay burst into wheezing laughter as the realization of what was about to happen hit Nick and he turned away and cupping his reddening face in his hands.

“You’re insecure!” Karl started singing, as loudly as he could. “Don't know what for!”

Clay and George sat wheezing as the music blasted through the speakers, and Clay turned the volume up to mess with Nick. Karl was joined by Clay, the both of them yelling out the lyrics more than singing, white Nick’s face became redder and redder. George’s face was almost as red, struggling to breathe as he vaguely mouthed the words trying to sing along.

The rest of the car ride was a blur of screamed song singing. Clay laughed so hard his lungs hurt, and he had to try his best to control the steering wheel in front of him. He looked over ant George, who was no longer laughing as hard as he was earlier, but was excitedly singing along to That's What I Like by Bruno Mars, doing the head movements with Karl while Nick was popping off while singing along.

Clay beamed over at George, butterflies starting up again. A small pain pulled at Clay’s heart, and he looked away sharply, feeling anxious. The voices in his head started again, through the music. Clay started to zone out, and clenched his jaw, his eyes blurred and could feel his nose stuff, worried he was about to cry. He quickly moved his head and wiped his eyes with his shoulder, accidently pulling the steering wheel too far to the left.

The car moved in a way that felt unnatural, too quickly to one side of the road then back to the other, Nick hadn't buckled his seatbelt and fell into the space between the backseat and the passenger seat. A car the dream barely missed hitting honked aggressively.

“Woah!” Karl and George had yelled, grabbing on the the seats to try and steady themselves while Nick had yelled “Fuck!” before getting stuck.

Karl started laughing and tried to help Nick back up and into his seat. Nick grumbled under his breath and Clay felt panicked. He knew Nick wouldn’t keep quiet for long.

“What the honk Clay?” Nick practically yelled, holding his hand to his head, wincing as Karl reached over.

“Nick, dont-,” Karl tried to interrupt, but Nick pushed his arm away.

“No, I want an answer, how the honk did you even swerve so bad!” Nick yelled again, eyes shut tightly as he lowered back into the seat.

“Sapnap, its not his fault, we were all yelling,” George tried to rationalize and Karl nodded agreement, despite the concern for Nick’s head.

Nick groaned in response and held his other hand to his face. Karl whispered something to him and Nick pulled down his seatbelt and buckled it in. Clay stiffened, thoroughly shaken up. He hadn’t meant to make Nick fall over, he didn't mean to swerve the car, he didn't mean to get stupidly overwhelmed and end up hurting one of his best friends. Instead of trying to explain himself, he muttered “Sorry” through gritted teeth trying to hold back tears.

He could feel a pair of eyes on him and glanced to his side to see George, his expression soft and laced with concern. They locked eyes for a moment and Clay turned away, not wanting to swerve again. He felt the touch of someone's hand next to him and looked down in surprise. George had rested his hand on top of Clay’s. George was looking out of the window, but Clay was glad, that way George wouldn't see the way he looked from his hand to George’s, trying not to move his hand the rest of the way to the airport.

They parked at the airport and Clay looked over to his friends to see Nick asleep, head rested on his seatbelt, and Karl sitting next to him, and looked over at Clay from the window.

“Want to come get Skeppy with me?” Clay asked, trying to put the argument he had with Nick behind him.

“I think I’ll stay, to make sure Sap’s in a good mood when he wakes up,” Karl said, looking over at Nick who still had an upset looking xpression on his face.

Clay laughed quietly and nodded, turning to George. “Do you wanna come?” Georgesmiled and nodded, looking back at Karl to see if he wanted him to stay, Karl nodded that George could leave and the two friends got out of the car.

“Would Skeppy have landed already?” George asked, looking around at all the shops while they waited for Skeppy to message them that he had made it.

“It should have,” Clay replied, checking the time again.”We’re going to be late for lunch.”

George laughed and Clay smiled in response to George’s positive reaction. If only i could feel that light, Clay thought to himself sadly, feeling a twinge of pain pull at his heart.

“Dream! George!’’ an enthusiastic voice sounded from ahead of George and Dream, Clay turned around with a wide smile to see Skeppy running over to him and George with his suitcase rolling behind him.

“Hello, Skeppy,” George laughed, putting his phone in his pocket and reaching his arms out to greet Skeppy with a hug. Clay laughed hello and greeted Skeppy with a hug as well.

“I can't wait to spend the rest of the week with you guys!” Skeppy said loudly, his voice cheerful.

“Me neither! It’s going to be so great, i have a big plan for all of us tomorrow once Bad gets here,” Clay said, trying to match Skeppy’s joyful tone. They started walking out of the airport, people turning to look at the loud group.

“I can’t wait! Is Karl and Sapnap here yet?” Skeppy asked, walking ahead of clay and George.

“Yea, but Sapnap hurt himself and fell asleep in the car and Karl didn't want to leave him alone,” George explained, his hand brushed Clay’s briefly, and Clay looked over at George, but he avoided his eyes, talking to Skeppy.

They loaded into the car again. This time George moved to the back with Karl and a now awake Nick who seemed to be in a much better mood. They greeted Skeppy happily, and asked him about the flight.

Clay smiled and laughed with his friends again, feeling relieved that the more people came over, the less he would need to draw conversation out of his friends and he could just relax and listen without needing to contribute but not feel left out.

“Dream i can't get over how tall you are,” Skeppy laughed as they were halfway to the pizza place they decided to have lunch. “Right? It’s insane!” Nick yelled, with George and Karl laughing in agreement. Clay laughed too, feeling better since the car ride to the airport.

“I think you guys are just short,” Clay replied cockily, and heard Nick scoff.

They got to the pizza place and spent the whole time laughing, and talking. Nick was seated next to Karl, who Skeppy was on the other side of, George next to Skeppy, and Clay next to George and Nick.

They dined outside, sharing one large pizza, laughing as George’s jaw dropped, and made multiple comments on the gigantic portion size. At one point a bird flew right above Nick, and made him drop a pizza slice on the floor. Skeppy seemed to never lose energy, which amazed Clay.

At another point, ‘Your New Boyfriend’ by Wilbur Soot came on the restaurant speakers and they all yelled in excitement, making a video of them lip syncing to it and sent it to Wilbur who then replied: ‘YOOOOOOOOOOO THATS POG GREEN BOI’ 

After they finished their meal, George sat in the passenger seat on their way back to Clay’s house for them to spend the rest of the day hanging out together. They played some music loudly, but nowhere near as loud as it had been on the way to the airport.

“Y’know Dream almost crashed us on our way to get you, Skeppy,” Nick stated in his unfiltered way he did when he didn't realize the things he said got hurtful. Clay winced and Karl sharply elbowed Nick in the side.

“Oh, no that doesn't sound good,” Skeppy laughed awkwardly, then telling a funny story that had happened during one of his “today i trapped 100 kids” videos to change the subject.

Clay gripped his to-go drink that sat in his cup holder, and tried to take a few breaths, telling himself it was just a joke.He could feel Geroge’s eyes on him again but he didnt turn to meet them, driving steadily back to his house, slowly tuning back into Skeppy’s story, laughing as genuinely as everyone else.

They got back and Karl gave Skeppy a tour of the house for Clay, who went to go set things up.  
Clay turned as he heard Nick’s footsteps come closer.

“Hey, Nick, I'm sorry about the whole car thing i-”

“No, Clay, I’m sorry I shouldn't have snapped at you,” Nick said, looking Clay in the eye. (Which was honestly kind of intimidating but heartfelt at the same time, as Nick didn't do this often and did only when he was saying something he meant).

Clay smiled and hugged Nick, who returned it immediately. “It's ok, brother, I’ll be more careful next time.”

The friends all changed into swimsuits and went out to the beach after Skeppy wouldn't stop asking why they wouldn't go. It was more of a suggestion that Skeppy had hinted at at first, until Karl made a comment on the beach to which Skeppy had replied with,’’ Well that sounds nice. TOO BAD WE CAN'T GO THERE.”

Clay waited outside his sliding glass door for the rest of his friends. And looked over to the ocean, breathing it in. He remembered how George just sat at the sand the last time. This time, he’s gonna have some fun, Clay thought to himself determinedly. 

Karl, Nick, George, and Skeppy got to the door at the same time, Clay opened it for them, gently pushing Patches out of the way with his foot.

“Last one to the ocean has to gift the winner twenty subs!” Nick yelled, racing towards the water and jumping Clay’s backyard gate.

Skeppy and Karl immediately took off, all jumping the gate. Clay and George laughed at them and walked up to the gate and opened it.

“Why don't you race, George?” Clay asked, closing the gate behind them and walking down the sand.

“I don't know,” George replied, looking away with a smile.

“C’mon it's so much fun! Running in the sand, and jumping into the water,” Clay said dreamily, closing his eyes to picture the sun on his skin and the wind blowing through his hair as he raced with advantage against his friends to the water he couldn’t imagine his life without.

“Well it doesn’t matter, anyway. You could beat anyone here in a race,” George said, looking up at Clay, squinting the sun out of his eyes.

“Well how do you know,” Clay asked.

“Well you’re much taller than me, for one,” George said, looking out to the ocean again. Clay did the same and saw Nick trip Skeppy, and Karl wading deeper in the water.

“Well you won't know for sure unless you try it.” Clay said happily, stopping and looking into George's eyes expectantly.

George stopped too and returned Clay’s gaze. “I guess you’re right.” George responded, and before Clay knew it George was well ahead of him, racing to the water. Clay dropped the towels and ran after him, passing him easily and barely making it to the water before George did. Clay laughed, running deeper into the water, fighting the waves as they pushed against him.

George groaned and Clay heard Nick laugh.”You owe me twenty subs!”

George rolled his eyes and walked into the water with Clay. Clay slowly leaned on his back as he got deeper in the water, letting himself float. They drifted closer to Karl, Nick, and Skeppy, close enough to hear, but Clay was liking this break from talking, just relaxing in his ocean.

“Clay?”

“Mhmm?”

“How do you do that?” George asked, swimming in a wide circle around Clay, who was still floating on his back.

“Oh, it's easy, I can teach you!” Clay said excitedly, adjusting so he was standing in the water again. 

“Just lie back, and try to keep your stomach up, with enough practice it's super easy,” Clay demonstrated, then letting his body drop so he was back on his feet again.

George tried to lean back, lifted his feet but panicked and his head fell under the water.

“Its like a trust fall, you can’t doubt yourself or you’ll sink,” Clay explained between laughs before George splashed water on him.

“Oh shut up, no this isn’t ‘easy’,” George said, smiling despite his mocking tone. Clay laughed again and they swam over to where the rest of their friends were. George stayed close to Clay, which made him feel special, like even though George wasn’t the best swimmer and didn’t like to admit it, he stayed close to Clay just in case something happened.

Nick and Karl were still whispering to each other between jokes, Nick splashing everyone with saltwater multiple times.

After about another hour of everyone swimming around they went back inside to all take turns showering, and changing into normal clothes. 

They went outside watching the fire in Clay’s backyard, talking and singing along to even more  
Clay finished showering first and waited for the rest of his friends on his couch with Patches. He scrolled through twitter, liking, commenting, and occasionally petting Patches in between. Eventually Nick came and sat on the far side of the couch, scrolling on his phone too. Then Skeppy sat at the foot of the couch, checking his discord. Then Karl came and sat next to Nick, and George came and sat next to Clay.

They turned on the tv and spent most of the time scrolling through all the different programs for something to watch. Slowly, the five friends adjusted on the couch, Clay laid at the end of the couch, his feet resting on an ottoman, and Geroge was sitting the same way, close enough he was leaning on Clay’s shoulder, as the couch wasn’t big enough for all of them, and Nick was taking up most of the space, with karl and Skeppy sitting next to him.

Halfway through a movie Karl had recommended to them, they heard a knock at the door. Clay got up, regretfully having to move around George to go get it.

Clay opened the door and was greeted by a friendly face and familiar voice. “Hey, you muffinhead!”

“Bad!” Clay cheered, bringing Bad in for a hug. The rest of Clay’s friend’s came over to greet him too, Skeppy hugging Bad for the longest.

Everyone brought Bad up to seed on what they had done so far those past few days. They moved outside in front of the fire pit, the sun was setting, painting the clouds a warm pink, making more and more stars visible as time passed. They spent the rest of that day planning their week, Clay hinting towards the ‘surprise’ again and again. Multiple times Clay felt Georg’s eyes on him. Occasionally Clay would meet his gaze, or silently acknowledge it by touching his hand to George’s.

Nick and Karl were the first to go to their room, then Skeppy showed the tired Bad to the room they shared, leaving Clay with George.

“Dream?” George asked, rubbing his eyes after a while of blissful silence, the two just watching the stars above them.

“Yes, George?” Clay asked, looking away from the sky to meet George’s eyes.

“Where am I meant to sleep?” George asked.

“Oh, i'm so sorry i forgot about that,” Clay realized, immediately trying to find a solution.

George chuckled and leaned back in his chair.

“If you want,” Clay started hesitantly, looking over at George.”You can stay in my room?”

George sat up a little and looked at Clay for a moment.

“But only if you want to - and i could sleep on the couch or something-”

“It’s fine, Clay,” George said, getting up. “It’ll be like a sleepover.”

Clay nodded to that with a smile and went inside with George.

They went into Clay’s room and Clay jumped into the bed, pulling down the covers for George. They lied down together, awkward silence at first as Clay felt his heart race. He felt George hold his hand, and Clay looked over at him. George had his eyes closed, but had a small smile creeping up his face. Clay smiled softly back at him, and pulled him into his chest. Clay held his breath, hoping he wasn’t taking it too far, but George didn’t object.

Clay held George in his arms and felt their heartbeats sync. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, feeling himself tremble, trying to push away tears. He hugged George tighter, and felt George take his hand in tranquill understanding.

Clay had never felt so grateful to heave George with him, and he soon fell asleep with his face buried in George’s sweater.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking around! im thinking i might write one or two chapters before i finish this but stay tuned for the next chapter, ive already started it and apologize in advance if it takes longer than expected.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clay puts his surprise in action  
> meanwhile George is having nightmares

George’s POV

Grey. All he could see was grey. George sat up, shivering lightly. He held his hand up to his eyes and squinted, trying to see past the grey. George sat up, his nose feeling stuffy and he rubbed his eyes. He felt frost ride on wind all around him, biting sharply into his skin. He hugged his arms and started walking. He felt the wind quicken, muffling the sounds around him with sharp whispers as it flew past his ears.

“Why didn’t you stay, Georgie?” George turned around sharply. He looked around, slowly scanning the grey for the source of the familiar voice.

He trudged forward. Snow and ice littering the ground as the win grew thicker with snow.

“Was it not enough for you?” George froze in place. He looked cautiously around again without moving his head. He felt his heartbeat grow rapid. Anxiety pricked at his chest. He turned ahead and continued forwards. The wind grew aggressive, pushing George backwards.

Without warning, the wind flung George backwards into the snow, now knee-deep. George looked around, terrified. Something was against him.

“Georgie?” The voice sounded clear in his ear, warm breath brushed his ear gently. George turned around immediately, eyes wide.

“George,” Eret said, looking him in the eyes with a crooked smile and gleam in his eye. Something was off.

“Eret?” George asked, reaching out, the cold numbing him all around, all he could feel was cold and pain.

Eret looked at George, his gaze softened. Eret smiled warmly and reached towards George’s outstretched hand. George felt his heartbeat settle and he returned Eret’s kind smile.

Eret lifted George halfway off the ground before he let go, letting George fall back onto the icy ground.

“Arhh!” George exclaimed, feeling sharp pain crawl up his back.

“How could you,” Eret said, all the warmth left him. Eret was colder than the ice, colder than the wind that flew relentlessly against George, bringing more and more snow to bury him.

Eret lifted George up, and threw him farther into the grey. Eret walked menacingly across and George tried to claw away, his joints aching at the cold. Eret was standing back at George, gritting his teeth, and grabbed George by the collar of his shirt.

“You hurt me.”

“What? Eret, you’re not well - Let me go,” George pleaded, feeling his heartbeat speed up again, he felt the sheer dread build up inside of him. Eret stared him in the eyes with a piercingly cold gaze. 

George felt nothing but pain as Eret plunged a dagger into George's flesh, George cried out in pain, feeling every movement as Eret pushed the dagger deeper and deeper. George felt the tears build in his eyes and he looked at Eret, whose expression was blank. An empty canvas painted with George’s blood.

George watched in pain, his sobbs catching in his throat, as eret’s face changed. The features rearranged themselves, moving in an ungodly way, making George feel sick.

And he saw Clay. Clay in a green hoodie, a round clay mask painted with a red smile on it. Clay looked at him like he was worthless, pathetic, even. Before dropping George back into the ice.  
Clay stood over him. Watching George as he bled out. George looked up, betrayed as the cold numbed everything but the pain in his stomach, the grey blurred his vision, until it was all he could see.

George sat up, shaking in cold sweat trying to catch his breath. For a few moments all he could see was grey, and he felt real tears start to form in his eyes and he began to shake uncontrollably.

“Hrm?” George heard a drowsy voice beside him, and he turned and noticed for the first time since waking up that Clay was still asleep beside him.

“Oh, I’m sorry Clay, I didn't mean to wake you up-” George said in panic, resting his hand on Clay’s arm as if to will him back to sleep.

“George,” Clay whispered, sounding half asleep, but he tiredly brought a small grin on his face.”It’s fine, you’re fine.”

Clay accidently dropped back into his pillow as he suddenly seemed to realize what was happening, he sat up, looking more awake than he had a second ago. He looked George in the eyes, his expression filled with concern, making George want to hide his face in embarrassment as he felt more tears blur his vision, and sobs rising in the back of his throat.

Clay reached out and gently pulled George into his chest, cradling him in his arms.”Are you ok? What happened?”

George tried to suppress the sound of his crying, and buried his face into Clay’s shirt, holding on tightly to his friend. He felt Clay rest his chin on his head.

“It’s going to be ok, I promise, you can tell me when you’re ready,” he felt him whisper.

They sat like that for a while, until eventually Clay broke the blissful silence.

“Are you ok now?” Clay asked cautiously. George felt Clay’s arms tense to pull george back into a hug if all went downhill.

George pushed himself away from the radling hold Clay had him in. Clay didn’t object, but helped him into an upright sitting position. George leaned into clay’s side resting his head on his shoulder, and wiped away his tears with a sniffle.

“I had a nightmare,” George managed to say, in a light whisper. He felt Clay reach for his hand and brush against it like George had done earlier that day.

“Hmm,” He heard Clay hum. George opened his hand as Clay repetitively brushed his own gently against it. George felt as Clay’s fingers intertwined with his own, gentle but protective.

“And It was cold,” George whispered, hoping he wouldn’t relapse into a sobbing mess. “And Eret was there, and he was himself.”

Cley hummed in response, a slightly confused tone this time.

“Until-,” George choked out, squeezing Clay’s hand.

Clay hummed again, returning George’s sudden grip by placing his second hand above George’s, resuming the rhythmic strokes.

“He said i hurt him, and then he changed- he- he stabbed me, Clay.”

Clay sat up taller and looked George in the eye, confuse tinting his gaze with a slight frown. But George continued, ignoring Clay’s look and the tear he felt run down his cheek.

“And he dropped me in the cold- it was so cold- and he watched as I died,” George started crying again and pushed himself into Clay.

“And then he was you.”

“What?”

“You did the same thing,” George said in a hushed sob, trying not to wake their friends. Clay pulled his hand away from George’s and wrapped his arm around him again instead.

“You were you until- you- you just weren't anymore,” George rambled.” And you- you-”

“Geroge look at me, please?” Clay said, he turned his body to face towards George, bringing him into a hug. George felt Clay’s arms tremble, as he gripped George in their tight embrace.

“I would never ever hurt you, I swear.” Clay said, the words coming out more as squeaks.”it was just a nightmare, you are here now, you are safe, you are with me and i won’t let anything ever hurt you i promise you that.”

George felt himself begin to shake as well, and he realized Clay was crying softly in Geroge’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” Clay whispered.

George felt at a loss for words, he wasn’t sure what had brought Clay to this breaking point, but he pulled away from the hug and looked Clay in the eyes, their teared faces mirroring their emotions.

“It was just a nightmare,” George said to Clay sternly, more for himself than his friend. Clay nodded, wiping his cheek and cleared his throat.

“Im sorry I hurt you- even if it was in a dream,” Clay said, reaching his arms out for another hug.

George nodded and hugged him back, they sat like that for a while in silence.

‘Wait- what time is it?” George asked, not feeling tired at all.

Clay laughed lightly and layed back down on the bed and pulled up the covers on himself and George.”it's 3 am.”

“Oh, Clay, I'm sorry- i really didn’t mean to wake you up so early,” George apologised, Clay laughed again.

“It’s ok George, i'm glad i could make sure you were ok.” Clay said drowsily, laying into his pillow. He reached for George's hand.

George smiled and lay down next to Clay, trying not to fall back asleep, just in case he was haunted by another nightmare. 

After what seemed like five minutes, George looked out the window and saw the sun rising. George huffed in tired frustration. He carefully released Clay’s hand and went out to the living room and made himself a cup of coffee.

He finished his coffee, only to look at the clock and realize it was barely 4:30. He washed his mug and decided to try to go back to sleep.

George walked back into Clay’s room, seeing his friend passed out, he climbed back in and managed to tire and go to sleep himself. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this comfortable. He looked over his shoulder to see Clay sleeping. George felt something warm in his chest and smiled at the dirty blond. George rested his head again, and leaned back into Clay.

. . . .

“Alright, Bad with Skeppy, Karl with Sapnap, and I'll stick with George,” Clay said importantly, standing outside the gates of a carnival with his friends. He handed each of his friends Forty dollars each.

“Whichever team has the most tickets by 3pm gets to pick what we do tomorrow,” Clay said smiling, handing George his share of the money.

It was about 9 am and George could feel a cool breeze flow through the humidity. He had a thin jacket on just in case it had gotten too cold, but Clay had laughed at him for it. George looked past Nick's shoulder to see all the different rides and booths the carnival had. 

“Wait, what does the winning team pick from?” George asked, realizing a flaw in Clay’s explanation of what they were doing.

“That’s a surprise,” Clay said with a mischievous grin.

“Well that’s not fair,” Bad piped up.

“Yea,” Karl agreed.”We’ve never been here before, how do we know what there is to do?”

“I picked four different options while I was planning out what we would all do together,” Clay elaborated, fiddling with the cash in his hands.

“Oh, ok,” Bad said, satisfied with his answer.

“Alright,” Clay said, clapping his hands together, he walked over to George and faced towards the entrance.

“Ready,” Clay said, looking around at his friends with a giddy smile.

“Set,” Everyone got ready to sprint to the nearest booth.

“Y’all are going down!” Nick yelled, right as Clay called out ‘Go’, and everyone ran through the entrance and split in different directions, yelling instructions to each other.

Clay grabbed George by the arm and pulled him between booths, George trying to match the tall man’s pace.

“Over here, i know a good booth!” Clay said, making another sharp turn. George sprinted, barely moving fast enough that he wouldn’t feel Clay tugging his arm as much.

Clay turned sharply in front of a booth with no line. A cherry looking man sat in the corner of the booth, scrolling through something on his phone.

‘Excuse me, sir,” Clay said, louder than he had meant and out of breath with a huge grin. George scoffed at him, making his smile widen to match Clay’s.

“Welcome to Pop it! You get three tries to pop three balloons of the same color!” the man said, gesturing to the wall behind him, littered with many different colored balloons taped to the walls, some of them with painted numbers on them, which George assumed meant they were worth more points. But that didn't matter. George’s excitement faded to slight annoyance and his jaw dropped as he heard clay burst into wheezing laughter.

“Dream! How are we supposed to win now?” George shouted in disbelief, he noticed his friend’s face turn a darker shade of red at his lack of oxygen (assuming red because he can't see that color lol).

‘You did that on purpose!” George exclaimed, as Clay handed the booth director some cash and was given six darts.

“It's ok! Just aim for the ones with bigger numbers,” Clay said, trying to catch his breath as he hit the balloon with the most points on the first try.

“See? Now all i have to do is pop two other balloons the same color,” Clay finished, holding his breath as he popped another balloon.

“How am i meant to do this?” George yelled again, looking for three easily distinguishable balloons.

“Just pop three blue ones,” Clay said, looking over at George, waiting to throw his last dart.

“Ok ok, smartarse,” George said, rolling his eyes with a smile, setting dream off into a fit of giggles as he threw his final dart, hitting his third balloon.

The booth director congratulated Clay and gave him a small handful of tickets to later cash in for a prize in the carnival square.

George had missed every dart except for one, demanding Clay give him another dollar to try again. Eventually CLay had given in and after much concentration, George hit a total of two balloons. The booth director had laughed with Clay, and gave some tickets to George anyway.

George turned away from the booth and felt Clay hook his elbow around his own. Clay was still laughing, and George decided not to pull away and ruin the mood, following him to the next booth.

A few hours passed, George feeling the warm humid air turn cooler, large clouds started filling the sky.

“Hurry up, Dream!” George shouted, tugging on his friend's arm.” I get to pick the next booth.”

Clay chuckled and followed George as he walked between many different booths. George felt Clay’s eyes on him as he tried finding the perfect booth. He didn't really have any expectations for the carnival when they had first arrived, but he was surprised at how many different booths there were.

He finally saw one that seems simple enough for him to be good at, but different enough for him to be able to beat Clay at it. He chuckled in satisfaction and he tugged the tall man’s arm to stand next to him.

“Hand me the money,” George said, smiling triumphantly, holding out his hand. Clay scoffed and put some money in George's hand as they waited for their turn.

The booth had a large painted sign that read ‘Fish Pong!’ and it was exactly what it sounded like. George quickly picked up on how it worked as he watched the family in front of them throw ping pong balls into rows of fish bowls. Almost each one had a shiny goldfish in it, swimming in circles, their scales glimmering as the dimming sun reflected off of them.

George felt Clay peering over his shoulder and turned to look up at him.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing,” Clay said, turning his head away, locking his eyes on a particular goldfish with some white scales, mostly isolated and the bowls surrounding it were empty.

“Dream I saw that, don't you dare try and play it off,” George prompted, seeing a smile creep onto the tall man’s face.

“It was nothing really…” Clay trained off. He lifted a fist up between them, and slowly opened it, revealing two tickets to go on the ferris wheel.

“Clay!” George laughed, taking one of the tickets from his friends hand. Clay laughed and put his own ticket in his pocket.

“There's gonna be fireworks and we still have a couple hours, but these tickets put us front in line so we can just go right before they start,” George tried to suppress the butterflies that fluttered recklessly around as Clay smiled down at him, he had a sort of genuine excitement in his eyes. George met his eyes with a warm smile.

“Thanks, Dreamie.”

Clay smiled harder and looked up at the line. George turned too and saw the booth people hand a little girl a bag full of water, the simmering form of a small goldfish swam around the small bag frantically.

“Wait,” George looked up at Clay. “You can keep the fish?”

“Well-” Clay laughed.

“Welcome, Gentlemen! Step on up to Fish Pong!” A booth worker came up to them, a wide smile but a tired look on his face.

“Three ping pong balls each please,” Clay said, right before George could ask. The booth worker handed George and Clay each three ping pong balls and George handed them the money.

George felt more confident at this game as the first ball he threw landed right in the bowl of a larger goldfish. Clay scoffed, silently countering George’s silent challenge, and landing the ping pong ball in another bowl.

They took turns, silent the whole time, other than mutters of surprise when George landed the next to ping pong balls in the same goldfish bowl, Clay landing the next, but the last one bounced off the rims of two different fishbowls.

“Hahaha!” George yelled, poking Clay in the arm and he smiled gidilly, taking his measly two tickets from the booth worker.

“And for you sir,” the booth worker cried, gesturing her arms to the many different fishes.”Get to take your pick.”

“Ay, George you get a new pet!” Clay said excitedly, eying the same gold-and-white fish from before.

“Clay, I live in England.” George said firmly, waiting for the overgrown toddler to realize the issue.

“You could keep it at my house,” Clay said, bending down to get his eye level right at the bowl of the fish he was so fond of.

“But you have a cat,” George pointed out.

“Patches wont hurt him,” Clay insisted, looking up at George.

“Clay, I don't even have any equipment to keep a fish.”

‘We could buy some?” Clay said hopefully.

George felt a twinge in his heart, he didn't want to say no to his friend. Not to mention the fact that he had been there for George that morning, when he very well could have done nothing.

After much internal debate he decided he would have to do something else to make it up to his friend.

‘Clay, maybe another time- c'mon we gotta win this thing!” George said, trying to turn Clay’s attention to something else.

Clay grumbled but got back to his feet. They spent the next hour playing every game they saw, trying to get ahead in points. George kept catching himself smiling at Clay like nobody else was here. He felt another tug at his heartstrings as he noticed how Clay looked absolutely amazed as everything he saw. George tried to ignore a small flame of jealousy that poked at his heart. He admitted silently to himself how he had wished that smile was for him, and him only. Almost as quickly as George submitted to the realization, he pushed it away, focusing his eyes on the game at hand.

The sun had climbed higher in the sky, George squinted at it and checked the time. It was only 1pm.

“Can we get some food, Dream?” George asked, looking around at the rows of food stands they had walked to. George couldn’t believe how many different deep fried items there were.

Clay laughed. “Of course, but that does mean less money to play games,” he pointed out smugly.

“Its fine, i'm starving, and there ought to be someplace with something decent here, and not completely covered in butter,” George scoffed, Clay wheezed at George’s insult to the American foods.  
After walking through the many different brown of various deep fried items, George bought a burger and french fries, with a large soda. Clay picked a large bowl of french fries, drizzled in nacho cheese with chips to dip, as well as a large bowl of soda and a corndog. They picked a relatively clean picnic table underneath an umbrella, shading their eyes from the sun.

“Oh, George,” Clay said hesitantly between a mouthful of fries.

“Hm?” George mumbled, focused on trying to finish the ridiculously large portion size for a ‘small’ burger. Ugh, Americans *eye roll*.

“Are you ok? After last night and everything-” Clay mumbled, attempting to chew and speak at the same time.

George paused for a moment, debating how much he should say and if he should say anything at all.

“You don't need to talk about it if you don't want to, im sorry-” Clay rambled.

“No, it’s fine,” George said aloud, mostly to himself.

“It’s just…” George faltered. He looked up and was met with Clay giving him a soft expression of genuine concern.

“Remember when I told you guys i was Bi?” George asked. He figured he should clarify what he believed to be the reason for his nightmare.

“Yeah, why?” Clay asked, taking a sip of his soda.

“Well, a long time ago, when I was dealing with the whole… liking guys thing, I kinda liked this one guy but i didn't ever do anything about it,” George started. He looked up at Clay’s sweet gaze, seeing confusion crease his brow.

“Did you?” Clay cooed, trying to lighten the mood with a soft tease.

“Heh, well i guess not dealing with it wasnt… Good?” George braced himself for a pointed joke. He felt a light touch at the top of his hand and opened his eyes to see Clay smiling, gently holding his significantly larger hand on top of George's.

“It’s gonna be fine, how about this,” Clay said, moving his hand sharply back to himself, taking another large bite of his ‘Fried-Nachos’. “Tonight, you can borrow one of my hoodies, so that way, it's like a hug all the time! Even if i need to get up, and maybe it’ll be better!”

George smiled, taking another sip of his soda. “Maybe.”

. . . .

The sun painted the sky light blue, creamy orange (?) clouds painted the sky overhead, thicker yet than earlier. A light breeze ruffled George’s hair. George let himself feel the fresh wind against his skin, getting more comfortable with the humidity.

Clay tugged on his arm, pulling George from his small trance. George noticed his legs had taken him and Clay right at the line for the ferris wheel. They had finished their food and decided to ride the ferris wheel before it was too late, even if it meant they would miss the fireworks.

Nick had texteed their group chat with a selfie of himself and Karl with all their tickets. Clay and George had played a few more games, but from the looks of it Karl and Nick were in the lead.

Clay and George walked up to a separate line for people who paid extra for their tickets, it was much shorter than the initial line, and before he knew it, George was seated across from an unfairly adorable Florida Man.

Clay smiled at him as the wheel began to turn and their seats lifted. George yelped and gripped the edges of his seat. 

“Is now a bad time to mention… I'm scared of heights,” George muttered, eyes wide as he forced an anxious smile on his face. Clay burst into laughter, the sun shining onto his face, highlighting his sandy hair.

As their seats elevated, Clay’s laugh grew higher in pitch, he reached over and held George's hands, gripping them gently but firmly. George laughed along with his friend, trying to calm his racing heart that wasn't only afraid of heights.

Clay began to say something, but George couldn't hear him as he heard the wind whip past his ears, slow at first but gradual, rain pattering at the roof of their seat.

George laughed as Clay shamelessly yelled into the rain, lifting his hands in the air, pulling George’s hands upwards along with his own. Their lift came to a stop at the bottom of the ferris wheel, and the friends laughed as they hopped out, trying their best not to get drenched in the chilly rainwater.

Clay lifted his hoodie over his head, and held it up above his and George’s head. They started running towards the shelter of some of the booths, Clay pacing forwards faster than George, leaving george in the rain for a few moments too long.

“Get back here, Dream! It’s too cold!’’ George cried, shivering as he caught up.

Clay laughed,”You idiot!”

“Hey! Language,” Bad scolded, turning the corner with Skeppy, who was holding all their tickets with a giddy smile on his face.

“Sorry, Bad,” Clay chuckled, his damp hair sticking to his face, green eyes sparkled with fondness.

“Have you guys seen Karl and Sapnap?” George asked, trying to pull himself away from Clay.

“Yea, they’re at the prize booths, we came to come find you guys,” Skeppy chirped, trying to stuff his pockets with the tickets to keep them from getting wet.

“Oh, well let’s head over and decide the winners so we can get back to my house,” Clay laughed, turning around with his friends.

They got to the prize booth to see Nick drenched in rainwater, standing next to Karl who was sitting in a chair protected by an umbrella.

George laughed at Nick, poking at his softness that ended up getting him absolutely soaked, which then resulted in Nick bear hugging George which in turn got both of them soaked.

“Nick! Hurry so we can see who won!” Bad shouted, walking over to the table Karl was sitting at.

Each team displayed their tickets, Clay using himself as a shield to keep them from getting ruined in the rain.

George counted them out, Skeppy and Bad had the least amount of tickets, Clay and George came in second, and like he had predicted, Nick and Karl won.

“AYYY LET'S GOOO,” Nick shouted, hugging Karl.

Clay laughed and put his arm around George’s shoulders. George smiled, rolled his eyes at Nick and leaned into Clay.

“Frick you guys,” Skeppy laughed, picking up his and Bad’s tickets.

“Hey-” Bad warned.

“YA’LL SUCK, CMON KARL THIS IS FUCKIN’ POGGERS!” Nick yelled, taking his team's tickets to the prize booth.

“Language!’ Bad shouted, setting the group of friends off into laughter, Skeppy hugged Bad in comfort, and each team chose their prizes.

Clay let George pick out what they would get with their tickets. After much thought, George picked out two decently sized nerf guns and extra foam bullets. His choices seemed to influence his friends’ as he saw each of them got their own nerf guns along with whatever prizes they picked with their remaining tickets.

“Guess we know what we’re gonna do after whatever Nick and Karl pick tomorrow,” Skeppy laughed, as the booth worker handed him and Bad nerf guns.

The group of friends huddled out of the carnival and to Clay’s car, trying their best not to be soaked. George took his seat in the passenger, next to Clay.

“All right,” Clay said, turning in his car seat to face those sitting in the back, cramped together. “Nick, Karl, as the winners you guys get to pick what we do tomorrow. So, we can either go to Disneyworld, have another Beach day, Skydiving, or go to a dog shelter and spend all day playing with puppies or we can just go to the zoo.’’

George felt his jaw drop, his smile widening in anticipation of Nick and Karl’s choices, while a small bubble of anxiety fluttered around his chest hoping they wouldn’t pick skydiving.

Nick smiled mischievously, thinking about the decision. 

“Well…” Karl started.” We could just, do all of them-”

“No! That’s not fair!” Bad shouted jokingly.

“Well, I mean, we won so we get to pick,” Nick replied smugly.

‘Ha, no, cmon Sapnap, pick one,” Clay intervened.

“Ok, Ok, well i don't know about you guys but i need to play with puppies that would be so much fun,” Karl laughed, silently pleading that Nick would agree with him.

“Yea! Let’s do it im fine with that,” Nick smiled, looking at Clay for aprovall.

“Hey! Alright it’s settled! Now let’s go home,” Clay smiled, turning back in his seat to start the car.

The rest of the way back to Clay’s house, They had turned up the radio, blasting a playlist that Bad had carefully articulated for this trip, Nick, Skeppy and karl singing the loudest of all six of them while Bad and George shyly laughed at their boldness.

After staying up pretty late, despite most of their faded jet lagg, they all went back to sleep in the same rooms they had previously.

George sat on the edge of Clay’s bed, dangling his legs as he watched the taller as he dug through a messy drawer in his dresser.

Clay sighed frustratedly, standing straight to his full hight, pulling his hand through his messy hair, glowing softly as the warm shine from Clay’s lights bounced off him, highlighting his features.

“What are you trying to do again?” George asked, throwing himself backwards to lay down on the bed. Patches jumped up, prompt sitting on George's chest with a sneaky smile and twitch of her whiskers.

“I’m looking for a hoodie, remember?” Clay grumbled, slamming the drawer closed and opening another.

George let himself recall the moment where His Dream had offered his hoodie for George to sleep in so that ‘it's like a hug all the time’. 

“Yea,” George smiled to himself, stroking Patches.

“AHA!” Clay yelled triumphantly pulling out a hoodie, raising it to the light.

George jumped, Patches immediately sat up and looked at George then Clay with panicked eyes, making George laugh.

“Look! This used to be one of my favorite hoodies, but then it got too small,” Clay said happily, holding it out to the light. It was a soft blue with big bold printed letters on the front. Clay handed it to George and sat down next to him, lifting up Patches.

George fitted it over his head. It was a little bigger than George normally would have liked, but it smelled like warmth and sun and ocean.

And Clay.

. . . .

George was held at the mercy of a pointed threat. A phrase so painfully familiar it sliced his heart as though laced with thorns.

“You’ve needed this for a while.”

Heart in his throat, guilt overwhelming him.

“Needed what?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long for me to finish this! the chapter plan was a lot longer than i had realized and just alot has been going on right now as well as school having started up again
> 
> nayway i hope you can forgive me and i hope you liked the chapter!
> 
> see you next time :)

**Author's Note:**

> congratulations you finished the first chapter, thanks for sticking around :)
> 
> Please comment if you think i should continue this or if you like that any advice is also greatly appreciated


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